Chapter 8
Tyler
From the darkest shadows of a lane two streets away from Buck’s flat, Shade stepped out with a low greeting.
The heavily tattooed enforcer for the skeleton crew ran his gaze over my ride. “What the fuck are ye driving?”
In my haste to leave, I’d forgotten to switch back to my regular vehicle. Like my others, today’s grey SUV had a top-tier engine but purposefully appeared run-down and forgettable. I raised a shoulder. “Good for stakeouts.”
Shade’s eyebrows rose. “Straight from one job into the next.”
We fell into step.
“Want the details?”
“Just the crime to justify me being away from Ev and the goal so I know how hard to hit.”
“He fucked up guard duty and wiped the CCTV evidence of Dixie possibly getting attacked the night she left Deadwater.”
Shade’s eyes darkened. “Let’s make it hurt, then.”
On that, we agreed. All new staff members and crew wannabes signed a contract that gave them their priorities in protecting the women. Buck had signed up on that and failed. He had what was coming.
With the way I was feeling, I doubted he’d make it through the night.
I forced a laugh. “There was me hoping you’d be the reasonable one.”
“When has that ever happened? Besides, Everly has had back pain for days. It kills me to see her suffer.”
“Because it’s your fault?”
I meant in his part of her being pregnant, but I couldn’t help the comparison with how my actions injured Dixie as much as they were intended to help.
Shade grouched, “Don’t fucking remind me. This it?”
We’d arrived at a shithole of a large Victorian, converted into multiple flats in an area of the city where howls of pain were commonplace. And ignored.
“Which?” he asked at my nod.
“Ground floor.”
Shade pressed the first buzzer and yelled, “ delivery.”
Under his breath, he joked, “It’s the beatdown ye ordered.”
The door swung inwards, a mid-twenties gym bro appearing in the frame, his black skeleton crew sleeveless t-shirt cut low at the sides to show off new ink. His gaze ping-ponged between us, and the question on his lips failed.
“Shit,” Buck said.
He was right. In a heartbeat, I was in the hall, my arm against his throat and his back to the wall. Buck gripped my wrist. His legs kicked, inches above the floor.
“One guess why we’re here, motherfucker. Let’s take this somewhere private.” Shade gestured for me to follow him into the open flat doorway.
I dropped Buck then yanked his arms behind his back and forced him into the room. It was a bedsit, takeaway food containers strewn around the edges and a mattress on the floor with dirty sheets. I threw him onto it.
He curled in on himself and rubbed his throat, rasping, “Why are you here?”
Shade threw a punch, connecting with Buck’s jaw and sending him sprawling. He shook out his fist and glanced at me. “What, ye get to have all the fun?”
Buck groaned and clutched his head. “Whatever it is, I’m sorry.”
I stared down at the man who’d watched Dixie suffer. “At the brothel, do ye recall seeing one of the women take three men to a room on the last night ye worked there? Her name is Dixie.”
Blood stained Buck’s lips and teeth. “I remember.”
Anger coiled in me, hot and ready. I held it at bay to lead Buck to what I wanted from him.
“I have questions about one of the clients, but the camera footage has gone. I think ye deleted it to hide your negligence, and you’ve already been punished for that by getting fired.
It’s a shame because that might’ve saved your neck. ”
Shade tutted and pulled a blade from somewhere on his person, twisting it to examine the edge. Almost comically so. “A real pity.”
Buck’s eyes widened, sweat on his brow. “What do you mean, save my neck? If you could see it, I’d be okay?”
I shrugged.
“What if I had a copy?”
I fought to hide my reaction. I’d assumed he’d spill details from memory to avoid the inevitable pain we’d bring, but this was something else.
Shade spoke because I couldn’t. “Show us.”
Buck scrambled to get his phone from his pocket then swiped through the screens, holding it out to show us. He had photos and videos. Dozens showing rooms in the brothel, the women at work with clients, baring themselves for pay, not for freeloaders like Buck to get off over. Nausea gripped my gut.
“I know I shouldn’t have this,” he muttered, pausing over an image of two of the women together. “But check it out. Can they seriously expect us not to look?”
I took the phone from him. At his protest, Shade put a boot to his chest.
“Wouldn’t if I was ye,” he cautioned.
“It’s just jerk-off material,” Buck pleaded.
Shade heaved a sigh. “And exactly what Manny fired ye for. I don’t get the youth of today. Bunch of fucking morons.”
I swiped through until I reached a video containing the small, blonde figure I’d recognise in the dark. My heart dropped.
Dixie entered the room, three men in pursuit. I watched them circle her. Ignore her cues. Touch her. Hold her down. Her face contorted in obvious fear, even if there was no sound over Buck’s heavy breathing to hear her words.
Sickness combined with my fury. She’d suffered, and he’d watched. Recorded it.
Shade touched my arm.
I recoiled. “Don’t.”
“I wasn’t. I won’t.” He raised his hands, then booted Buck to lying flat once more.
Though the video was only a minute and a half long, I forced myself to watch it through, analysing every action the clients had taken and committing them to memory.
For her. I needed to see it all so I could make sure it never happened again.
Or, the devil in the back of my mind decided, to get the payback she deserved.
Sullivan was the lead guy’s name, Manny had told me. It was obvious which man he was. Aged around thirty, he had on a suit that told me he thought a lot of himself. The other two hung on his every word.
All of them hurt her, then the mood switched to something that looked like ridicule. Or humiliation. Enough for them to let her run out crying.
I forced myself to hold the image in my mind, trying to work out the change. They’d been lining up to rape her but had let her go. Why? Not that it mattered to the end result.
All would pay for what they did.
At last, I returned to our captive. “Ye let this happen.”
“Me? How was I to know she wasn’t into it? The bitch ran. If they’d hit her, I would have done something. Ruined goods and all that.”
Something cold settled in my chest. “Say her name.”
“The whore? Dixie.”
Rage scoured me of any other thought but her. I needed answers. Not blood. My hand didn’t listen. In a flash, I disarmed Shade and stabbed Buck through the palm, pinning him to his bed on the floor. He screamed. Shade grabbed a pillow and stuffed it over his face to muffle him.
He ducked to meet my eye. “Not here. Clean-up.”
I hesitated, then dragged the pillow away so Buck could see my eyes. “Who else did ye send these to?”
“N-no one.”
Kneeling on his chest, I rotated the knife in his palm then withdrew it and stabbed through his shoulder, blood spraying over my arm and jeans. He howled louder and reared to get me off. Shade produced another blade, and Buck stilled, even if his body convulsed.
“N-not the one with D-Dixie. But some others to a friend.”
Buck kindly gave up all the other information I needed, and I took a minute over finding his cloud storage, his sent messages, and searching any hidden files.
Then I texted the friend with an order to get rid of the videos or suffer for it, then deleted everything else, stowing the phone in my pocket for disposal.
A knock came at his door. “Brian?” a man called. “Are you okay in there?”
“Fuck off,” Shade yelled.
Buck, or Brian, apparently, took a shaking breath, his teeth clenched. “It’s all right,” he replied. “I had this coming. I’ll be okay.”
He wouldn’t. He’d let it happen to her. Even if he hadn’t committed the act, he was supposed to guard her. She’d relied on a system where security had her back.
I realised I was breathing too fast when Shade again forced eye contact with me, something careful in his gaze that had me pulling back into myself. Enough to see I was spiralling.
With one punch, my friend knocked Buck out. “Feels to me that Buck will make a nice example for the others who want into our crew. Leave him with me, aye?”
I stared at the prone body on the mattress, blood smeared from his injuries.
Typically, for this kind of transgression against the skeleton crew, we’d fuck someone up but not kill them.
It made a better lesson to spread the message by way of split skin and broken bones.
My priorities wavered. “I have the bastards in the room to go after.”
“Men who hurt Dixie?”
I couldn’t get the word out to confirm but jerked my head.
“Maybe a better use of this energy.” Shade furrowed his brow. “Ye recognised them?”
“No, but I have a name. Sullivan.”
Something ticked over in Shade’s eyes. “Fuck him up, but maybe hold off on ending him. I heard that name in relation to the Marchant shite. Everly was talking about the trusted companies Lovelyn and Mila were investigating. I’m sure she said Sullivan.”
“I can’t promise anything.”
He palmed my shoulder, shaking me once. “I hear ye. Now get the fuck out of here. I’ve got this.”
Dixie had told me to go. I wouldn’t waste that trust.